Category: Alexandria

Alexandria was named after the wife of King Edward VII. It was the largest industrial district in Australia and is still home of some of the big companies in Australia.

COOH Alexandria

COOH Alexandria Review:

Alexandria, especially the area around The Grounds, has become some sort of hot spot for up-and-coming restaurants in Sydney. COOH Alexandria is situated just across the Grounds. They have a massive dining space with quite a lot of tables. It could get a bit too loud when the restaurant is full.

We went there for lunch. There were quite a lot of vegetarian options on the menu. One of my friends was looking for some kind of steak but the only beef on the menu was burger.

Chicken Burger – $16 / $20 with chips – Free range hormone free marinated chicken breast with free range nitrate free bacon, cheese, smashed avo, rocket & tzatziki served on an organic charcoal bun

There were quite a lot of fancy words in the menu for the chicken burger. The charcoal bun stole the spotlight for the burger.

Moroccan Lamb & Quinoa Salad – $26 – Chermoula marinated free range junne lamb rump served medium, sweet potato, coriander, currants, caramelised onion, cherry tomatoes & mint yoghurt

I have never seen a lamb dish that could look so healthy before. I admire how they could make it into something that looked quite delicate.

Grilled Salmon & Soba Noodle Salad – $28 – Grilled ora king salmon with soba noodles, pickled ginger, avocado, ponzu dressing, coriander & mint

I don’t know how to describe it, but this combination worked. I liked how the lightness of Japanese-style soba was paired up with the grilled salmon and a slice of avocado.

Seared Tuna Salad – $25 – Spice crusted tuna with spiralised salad, jalapeno salsa & avocado puree

Going along with COOH’s team of light and heavy dishes, the seared tuna salad did just that. On one side, you have a mixture of salad and on the other side you had avocado puree topped with seared tuna.

Desserts

Chocolate brownie & jasmine cream – $15 – Fudge macadamia brownie with jasmine infused ganache monte & plant-based peanut butter ice cream

I’m not a big fan of chocolate, but this one was a bit better than our second dish. They chose to pair the brownie with jasmine cream and peanut butter ice cream. The resulting dish was this semi sweet and savoury dessert.

Pineapple & coconut verrine – $15 – Almond cake, coconut-chia cream, poached pineapple & lime sorbet

Unfortunately the second dessert didn’t impress us like the first. It was super sweet.

The final verdict for COOH Alexandria

COOH Alexandria serves quite a balanced dish.

Do you think I should go?

I’ve been to the restaurant twice and both times the food wasn’t too bad. However, the service could probably be improved. In saying that, I couldn’t really blame them either as there was only a handful of them in that massive space.

Rating:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $20 – $28 main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

90 – 96 Bourke Road, Alexandria 2015

+61 2 9002 1333

https://www.cooh.com.au/

May 6, 2019
Grandma’s Little Bakery

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Grandma’s Little Bakery has moved out of this location.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $10 – $20

Place: 7.5 / 10

Review:

I’m not quite sure when this restaurant was opened however its facebook page suggested that it was created in 2012 (Confirmed by them: they’ve been in Sydney for a year and a half). Grandma’s Little Bakery is a nice little café in Alexandria with quiet cheerful polka dot table cloths. They have shiny iPads for its menu (although you can’t really order from it). You can also have a buffet bar lunch and even vegetarian buffet bar (if you wish).

Let’s start off with something easy and always delightful: scones. The mistake we made was thinking that it was light! Quite the opposite, the scone was actually filling. The home-made butter and jam added the smooth and sweet dimensions.

We also had Celery and Lamb with grandma’s turmeric rice. The lamb and celery stew had a well-balanced flavour and went really well with the rice. Beef and mushrooms Vol-au-vent was also good (and best priced at $10) with over-flowing fillings! Even for a big guy like me, the dish was enough for lunch.

If you think you can handle a big breakfast or lunch, maybe you can try their Shakshuka Bolognaise. According to Wikipedia, shakshuka was originated from Tunisia. It’s quite an interesting dish (and large!) as it was served in a pan! Two eggs poached in bolognaise sauce would be enough to entice meat-lovers to enjoy this dish. There were also a side of organic bread slices if you must eat your carbs.

The unexpected came in last: Malabi. ’Delicious rose cream dressed with fragrant rose syrup, pistachio nut and coconut. A must try!’ – That was the menu description and we did try! It was a very rich and sweet dessert. I love the way the coconut and pistachio balanced its richness. Enter the pistachio biscotti and you got yourself a treat!

The final verdict for Grandma’s Little Bakery

You know it is a good restaurant, when at the end of the meal you had a dessert you can remember for a long time. Grandma’s Little Bakery did just that. I still cannot forget about its Malabi!

Did you know?

If you still think the dishes we reviewed were too small, you still can order its buffet bar for under $20 (I think it was $25 for Saturday)! There are quite decent healthy selections.

Details:

42 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria 2015

02 9690 0069

http://www.grandmas.com.au/

Oct 9, 2013
Ola Lola Café

Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10

Price: $10 for lunch special

Place: 7/10

Review:

This week we go to a relatively new café in Alexandria (there seemed to be loads of them opening in the last year or so!), Ola Lola cafe. Looking at their brand new website, Ola Lola café was opened on the 12^th of May 2013. It’s a very lively café with lots of bright colours.

One of the owners recommended our first dish, Empanadas. The website also stated that Empanadas was Ola Lola’s signature dish. There are four choices to choose from: beef, chicken, tuna or spinach and at $4.50 each (or 3 for $11.50) I think they were quite a bargain. I’d say the chicken and the beef are the better two. They are served with fresh salsa and I recommend you try it with Chipotle sauce on your table!

Our second meal was the meal of the day that they have for a fix price of $10: Albondigas de la Abuela – meatballs in tomato/Chipotle salsa with cheese and chilli. We were quite amazed when the dish arrived as we got FOUR giant meatballs with a side of salad and two slices of bread. They were pretty good and definitely worth the price!

The final verdict for Ola Lola Cafe

Ola Lola Café is a nice every day café if you happened to live or work around the area. The cafe brings fantastic Latin American hospitality in its service.

Did you know?

In some parts of Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia), empanadas is known as pastel. It is crispier than empanadas and has sweeter taste with chicken and potato as its main fillings.

Details:

39/101 Doody St, Alexandria 2015

02 9317 4687

http://olalola.com.au/

Sep 16, 2013
The Grounds of Alexandria – Breakfast Review

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price: $11 – $19 breakfast main

Place: 8/10

Review:

The Grounds of Alexandria is one of the hottest restaurants in Sydney. When I heard my friends describing it, it was always ‘come before 8 AM or you’ll be forced to wait for at least an hour!’ However, they also said ‘it was worth the wait.’

I finally got a chance to visit this fabled restaurant last week and I must say I am impressed! … and on a side note: No Queue! (I admit I cheated a bit by coming there on my day off Thursday Morning). Before you jump in to your car to visit the restaurant, make sure you turn your GPS on or you might need to make a very far U-turn if you missed it.

The Grounds of Alexandria gave us more than just a place ‘To eat and To drink’, it was a place to experience great coffee in a relaxing environment (you will see more pictures below). The front page of the menu also mentioned it was ‘made with skills and precision.’ There weren’t that many dishes that we tried this time because there were only the two of us.

Coffee was obviously our main focus coming to the restaurant. It reflected on what the waitress asked us to begin our breakfast ‘What coffee would you like to start with? ‘. I ordered my usual Café Latte. In addition to its great coffee, if you paid attention to the green saucer below (there was a small chip on it), it was actually designed like that.

The menu was divided into two, breakfast and lunch. Since we arrived quite early, we only could order from the breakfast menu. We ordered two dishes that caught our eyes the most.

Our first one was House Cured Ocean Trout – $19. It had quite a hi-tech description from the menu: Soft boiled eggs with dill crème fraiche, pickled cucumber, micro herbs and sourdough. I can simply say: one fine dish! The combination of cucumber and crème fraiche was incredibly refreshing and the soft boiled egg was perfect. Enter the trout and you got yourself a really good dish for breakfast.

On the opposite side, Lemon Myrtle Mushrooms ($16) looked dead simple and I loved the selection of mushrooms; Shimeji, enoki, field, baby button and woody mushrooms. These tasty mushrooms were cooked in The Grounds lemon myrtle butter. The lemon toned down the mushrooms’ woody and charred taste to a delectable level. To make it consistent, the fried egg and brioche enhanced the dry look of the dish.

The next two pictures had nothing to do with The Grounds’ food and beverages. I wanted to show you that even if you didn’t get a seat inside, the outdoor area was about the same size. There was no table service for outdoor area.

The final verdict for The Grounds of Alexandria

The Grounds of Alexandria really lived up to my expectations and I was happier as I didn’t need to queue to get a seat! The House Cured Ocean Trout was fabulous and I have tasted nothing like it before.

Did you know?

In the block where The Grounds of Alexandria is located, there are three other shops opened. With very limited parking spaces, finding a parking around the area might be a difficult task.

One of the shops there deserved a special mention: Salt Meats Cheese. They sell some things that I’ve never seen anywhere in Sydney.

Details:

Building 7a, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria 2015

Phone: +61 2 9699 2225

Dec 26, 2012